Pitso Mosimane, above, said he took a gamble when he changed more than half his team from the side that faced Golden Arrows last Saturday to the team that beat AmaZulu 1-0 in the Absa Premiership on Tuesday.
Pitso Mosimane. Pic: Gallo Images
“Jingles” effected six changes, with some down to guarding against suspensions.
READ: Sundowns edge AmaZulu in a dramatic clash at Loftus
“I don’t make the changes because I want to look brilliant [but] because I am forced to make those changes.
“Had we played Hlompho Kekana he might have got a yellow card. Do I want to risk Tebogo Langerman, who is on three yellow cards? I can’t risk because the team needs to be full-strength in the [Telkom Knockout] final,” said Mosimane.
“If it backfired it was going to come back to me but that is my job as a coach. I have to direct and I have to risk and if it backfires I need to take the blame – and if it works, it means you have done your job as a coach.
“We did not use Thapelo Morena because he has a calf strain, Mauricio Affonso has been working hard and I think the game [against Arrows] took a lot from him.
“Themba Zwane and Denis Onyango are not yet available and we have a big game on Saturday [against Petro Luanda in the Caf Champions League],” he added.
Sundowns were bouncing back from a three-game winless run in the league.
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